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Wednesday, December 26th, 2018

Trump administration unveils plan to tighten food stamp access

Author:     Marisa Fernandez
Source:     Axios
Publication Date:     Dec 20 2018
 Link: Trump administration unveils plan to tighten food stamp access
Stephan:   Most publications at Christmas time publish "feel good" stories of cute children, cuddly animals, and happy families. I have a rather different view. I think Christmas and the New Year are a time when we should be taking stock of who we are and making commitments as to how we can change to improve our country. How we can stop things like the action described in this article, and replace such policies, with policies that will make our society more compassionate, life-affirming, and fostering of wellbeing.

A woman uses an electronic benefits transfer card to buy groceries in Portland, Maine.
Credit: Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald

The Trump administration announced a plan Thursday to use its executive power to tighten the work requirements for the nation’s food assistance program, the Washington Post reports.

What’s happening: Americans without dependents are required to work if they collect food stamps for three months in a three-year period, but that requirement is scrapped if they live in an area where the unemployment rate is 20% higher than the national average — currently 3.7%. The Trump administration wants to allow the waiver to stand only in areas with an unemployment rate above 7%, which could force hundreds of thousands of Americans out of the program.

Tougher food assistance requirements were part of the House’s version of the farm bill, but they were not included in the Senate version, which is expected to cross President Trump’s desk today.

  • Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue defended the policy on a call, […]
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